Hornet Media and the Fullerton Observer interviewed Hilda Sugarman, running for the Fullerton School District Area 2, at a candidate forum at Fullerton College on Oct. 7, 2024. The Fullerton Observer reached out to all candidates running for this office for the opportunity to take part in a video interview at the forum and interviewed those who responded.

This video series is a joint production of the Fullerton Observer, a volunteer-run community newspaper, and Hornet Media, the student-run media outlets housed in the Fullerton College journalism program. 

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity but have not been independently fact-checked. 

View live coverage of local elections returns on Nov. 5, 2024, at 7 p.m. on Hornet Media’s YouTube channel @fchornetmedia 

Video Transcript:

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

What programs and services do the Fullerton school district get right? And where can the district improve? 

Hilda Sugarman 

The district has been recognized for its innovation, its health, its safety, and its academics. As you already know, this last month, for the second time in two years, it has been voted the best public school in North Orange County. And we’re very, very proud of that. So why first of all, we offer an array of classes such as multi-age full immersion, Korean and Spanish OC. We offer an athletic and dance program where children can leave school and go to academies. And children who do not have funds can go for free, an opportunity they never would have had before in their life. Pretty exciting. And we have a unique initiative called The Tiny House, where students actually build a tiny house for one of our homeless families. And that’s super exciting. So I think it’s a multiplicity of choices where parents can put their children in programs and places that offer what’s best for their passion and their vision of education that we get right. What can we improve on? You want to know? For nine consecutive years, we have been commended by the state of California for closing the achievement gap. Okay. It’s not good enough for me. We need to make sure all of our students are academically successful in order to do well in this world. And so that’s one area that we definitely can improve on. And I think that we’re working really hard on that. The second area that I think we can improve on is infrastructure. Our schools are falling apart and we all know it. And it’s not fair for our teachers or our students to work in facilities that aren’t up to standards that are good for them to do the best they can do. So those are the two areas I’d like to see improvement. 

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

What is the biggest barrier that you see right now to student success for our Fullerton children? 

Hilda Sugarman 

That is a complicated answer. So sit back. It’s going to take a minute. In our schools, we have excellent teachers and well run schools by high performing principals. But each year we get an influx after the year starts of students who have perhaps neither never been to school in their life, do not speak English and could be anywhere from 7 to 14 years old. So now they come into a classroom and the teachers to get them up to snuff. Now, well, I want to give you an example of something that happened to me last year. I visit every single school, every single classroom, every single year, and I will randomly talk to students in the classrooms. So I went up to a little girl who was working on a computer and I said, Hi, what’s your name? No answer. So then I asked her in Spanish, What is your name? No answer. The little girl sitting next to her said, Oh, she just came here on Monday. This was Thursday. This was second grade. And she doesn’t speak English and she’s never been to school before, so she’s quite, quite nervous. She doesn’t have a lot of Spanish words either. Okay. Okay. So I leave the room and the principal tells me that this is the 30th student that has come to his school since September who has no language. And the program she was doing on the computer when I went over and said hi was learning the alphabet. She had no idea that letters have specific sounds and that clumps of letters make up words. So now you have a teacher trying to give her all the competencies she needs in second grade while teaching an entire other class that’s been there since September and know the class rules and all of that. And this little girl who was helping her was really wonderful, but helping her took away from that child’s learning, too. So that’s a real issue to me. And teachers who receive students throughout the year. There are so many academic variances in their classroom, it’s really hard for them to meet the needs of every student in their class academically and emotionally. So balancing the needs of all of our students is complex, and our educators do it every day. 

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

If you could magically change one thing for school districts, but not money, not money, what would you change? 

Hilda Sugarman 

I love this question, by the way. I think I would change that. Every person in a school would show kindness. And I think that if everybody was kind, we would create a culture that would enhance the overall atmosphere of the school and support the well-being of every person at that site. So kindness. 

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

So what is the endorsement that you that you receive that you are the most proud of? 

Hilda Sugarman 

Oh, my goodness. Most proud of it. Well, I received the endorsement of the teachers union. Those are people who really judge me and have to live with decisions the board members make and the input implementation that they’re forced to do by the superintendent in their principals. So getting their endorsement was super special to me. It’s good. 

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

Okay, how can we have fair opportunities for everyone to access special needs programs throughout all the schools, specifically students with mental and physical disabilities? 

Hilda Sugarman 

I like this question. I believe, obviously you could tell from my very first answer that every child should have access to what that child needs, and that includes special needs children, whether it’s physical or mental. Okay. So we look at every child individually, and if they have special needs, they get an individual education plan. Most of us have heard of it as an IEP, and that plan is specific for them. We have specially credentialed staff to work with these children in programs. Those programs are like magnet programs. They’re all over the district and when a child is seeing that it would fit best in one of those programs, that’s where they’re placed. If it’s not near their home, they’re provided free bussing to get them there. And if they need an aide, they’re given an aide. But there’s more than that. We have redone the playgrounds and every school that has special classes so that they’re accessible for children who can’t otherwise access play equipment. And we put down special turf and every one of those sites. So the result is that all the kids can go outside and play together. That’s really important. I want to offer something else. If any family needs I’m sorry, an advocate or support navigating their reach, that the resources that we offer at our school district, I’m here to help. I have a background in assisting both general and special education families, and I welcome communication from parents. Your feedback is invaluable in understanding which programs are effective and where improvements can be made.